Broken Mirrors
by Moonlitfear94
Summary: Ulyssa lives in the refuge, forgotten slums of the great city of Demacia. When she discovers that she has a talent for Lucemancy, once thought to be exclusive to Luxana Crownguard, Ulyssa sees a chance at a new life. However, higher powers take notice of this mysterious girl and set in motion events that will change the lives of both Ulyssa, and all of Runterra forever.
1. Chapter 1-1 - The Girl from the Refuge

Okay so I am by no means an "excellent" writer. But I've had a large portion of this story written for a while so I figured I'd at least post it.

Expect mistakes, especially in stuff like dialogue but I hope you enjoy otherwise :D

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**Chapter 1, pt. 1 - The Girl from the Refuge**

She stared, longingly, at the cracked reflection that was returning her gaze. The mirrored image of the young girl was there, but the shards of separated glass distorted the picture enough to make a difference between her and the mirrored image. Ulyssa stared at her reflection, as she did every morning. With each second she grew more and more jealous of the girl she was looking at. Everything was the same, the messy jet-black hair and pale skin, the torn and matted clothing, the dreary and stoic gaze typical of all those who lived in this hell-hole. But still, everything about her reflection was different and Ulyssa hated it. For unlike her, the girl in the mirror could change. She could be broken, reshaped, seen in a different light or at a different angle. Ulyssa, however much she tried, would always be the same orphan from the Refuge. She would always be the thief; she would always be the poor girl with the big dreams. She refused to allow these thoughts to depress her however. For her the mirror was not a reminder of how dreary her life currently was, rather it served as a symbol of what she would soon leave behind. Ulyssa always told herself that this would be the last time she looks into this mirror. Today would be the last day she has to steal from the baker's ovens just to eat, no longer would she be forced to lie and cheat her way to survival. Ulyssa knew that today was the day that 3 years of fending for herself would come to an end, because tomorrow was Champion day, and she was going to meet Luxana Crownguard.

Ulyssa walked out of her small shack, and immediately the fetid air of the refuge tore through her lungs. Despite living here her whole life, it always seemed like a new stench had permeated into the air around her, growing more fowl each day. She was never surprised though, for this was the refuge. While Demacia may be a shining beacon of prosperity and justice, they were not without their share of poor. The refuge started out as a small makeshift slum where the economically unfortunate lived, directly under the shade of the bell tower and out of the sight of the council. The population grew too large to go unnoticed, however, and the council was forced to either banish the people of the refuge or allow them to continue to crowd into the Common grounds. Concerned with tainting their pristine, all-welcoming image, the council decided to build a wall around the refuge and leave all the poor to languish in seclusion. There was originally a lot of resistance to this act, many accusing the council of treating them like animals instead of helping them. Over the years this hatred dissipated, and many of the people here were simply happy to have a place to live.

Ulyssa jumped across the small stream of filthy water that ran through most of the refuge. Laughing as she ran past the makeshift bakery, Ulyssa thought of all the times she'd almost been caught stealing bread from the baker's leftover pile. She ran past the town square, which was nothing more than a functioning well that someone managed to build a long time ago and finally stopped to catch her breath when she reached the wall. She smirked when she looked at the short barrier, a flimsy cluster of various metals and other junk crudely thrown together to form a division between the Refuge and the Common grounds. Ulyssa reached out her hand and knocked loudly on the wall three times then turned around and sat patiently against the scrap. Moments later the wall shook as something from the other side attempted to climb over it. Ulyssa smiled at the sounds of struggling.

"For someone wanting to join the army you sure you don't have whole a lot of upper body strength." Just then a blue haired girl plopped down next to her, somewhat startling Ulyssa.

"HEY!" The girl shouted playfully, "I'm only 13, I've got plenty of time to work on it, plus it's not all about muscles y'know," She pointed at her head and winked "Outsmarting your enemies is the greatest strength of all."

Ulyssa laughed, Quinn had been her best friend since the girls had met in the Common-grounds 2 years ago. Ulyssa, desperate to escape her life in the refuge, broke into Quinn's room and begged her for a place to stay. Despite her father being a Demacian officer, Quinn allowed her to stay for the night and they haven't separated since. The girls stood up and walked back towards Ulyssa's shack so they could make plans for the big day tomorrow.

"So where's Caleb? I thought he loved the thrill of sneaking over to the Refuge?"

Quinn smiled, "He's working out for our big expedition next year, says he's got to get as tough as possible to face the dangers of the Demacian forest." Ulyssa shook her head.

"Hard to believe your parents are letting you go out there alone."

"Yeah, well they both know how badly we want to join the army so they decided to help us get stronger rather than try and change our career choices."

"Just be careful out there, I want my best friends back in one piece"

Quinn laughed "Oh I'll be fine, no promises about my clumsy brother though."

Ulyssa giggled at the memory of a panicky Caleb after falling into a lake years ago and the two girls raced the rest of the way to her house while laughing and screaming the whole time, much to the annoyance of the locals.


	2. Chapter 1-2 - The Lady of Luminosity

**Chapter 1, pt. 2 - The Lady of Luminosity**

"Luxana Crownguard! You come down here this moment!" Lux cringed at the sound of her mother's beckoning. Looking across her large master bed at the clock resting on her desk, she noticed it was far past noon. The blonde forced herself out of her bed and immediately longed to hie within the large satin blankets again. She slogged her way down the grand staircase and into the lower living room.

"Why did you wake me up so early mo-" Lux choked on her own words when she noticed her mother and Chancellor Barstow talking in the living room, she scrambled to make herself look presentable, though this proved difficult given she was wearing her favorite Pentakill Pajamas. Lux's mother covered her face in shame while Barstow simply chuckled.

"It's a bit late to still be sleeping child, don't you think?" The Chancellor inquired. Lux grinned sheepishly; the Chancellor had been a close family friend since before her birth. Of the 10 chancellors that made up the Demacian council, Barstow was in charge of the city's military, though he was far from a fighter himself. Well into his 50s and rather slim despite his height, Barstow gave Luxana a warm hug and invited them all to sit.

"Well, we sure do have a lot to discuss today don't we?" Barstow smiled at the two blondes sitting across from him; meetings with the crownguards were always so pleasant. "How has she been coming along Lilia?" Lux's mother grabbed her daughter's hand and beamed with joy.

"Incredible, I've never in my life met a girl with as much magical potential as Luxana, especially in such a rare element."

Lux blushed; it was so embarrassing when people bragged about her like this. As far as she could remember she had always been called a "Prodigy" or a "Gift" but it never ceased to be overwhelming to her.

"Excellent," The chancellor clapped his hands with glee, "At this rate I don't see any reason why we couldn't get her into the College of Magic right away."

"No way!" Lux shouted excitedly, her green eyes shining with excitement, never had there been a 13 year-old girl accepted into the college of magic, it was practically unheard of. "Is that even possible?"

"We've not had someone of your talent for a long time, it's entirely possible."

The young girl didn't know what to think, ever since she discovered her talent for Lucemancy Lux had always dreamed of joining the Demacian College of Magic, though she often feared her parents had other plans for her. None of that mattered anymore, as she was finally going to be able to fully flesh out her magical prowess.

"You're unique Lux, there's not another person in all of Runeterra with your gift, and that is something we must cherish." Barstow patted Lux's shoulder "It's something you, and all of Demacia can be proud of."

Lux nodded, excitedly "Thank you so much chancellor, I promise not to let you down." Barstow laughed.

"You couldn't if you tried darling, now, I'm off to make the arrangements" He glanced at Lux's mother, "Make sure she's ready by next week Lilia, I'll come pick her up as soon as the semester begins." Lilia smiled and all three of them exchanged hugs and goodbyes. Once Barstow had left, Lux ran upstairs to call Garen. Her big brother could use some good news out on the battlefield.


End file.
